AmpliPhi Signs Global R&D Agreement with US Army to Develop Bacteriophage Therapies to Treat Resistant Bacterial Infections

AmpliPhi BioSciences Corporation (“AmpliPhi”), the leader in the discovery and development of bacteriophage-based therapies to treat drug resistant bacterial infections, announced today a Collaborative Research and Development Agreement (CRADA) with the United States Army Medical Research and Materiel Command (USAMRMC) and the Walter Reed Army Institute of Research (WRAIR).

The CRADA will focus on developing and commercializing bacteriophage therapeutics to treat Staphylococcus aureus, Escherichia coli and Pseudomonas aeruginosa infections. The increasing prevalence of antibiotic-resistant bacteria poses a serious threat to public health and military personnel and is a major problem in hospitals and clinics around the world. The initial indication will be wounds and skin infections from S aureus, which is the leading pathogen in healthcare-associated infections in the United States as a whole, accounting for 30.4% of surgical site infections.

AmpliPhi will retain global regulatory ownership and commercial rights to all products developed as a result of the agreement. USAMRMC will gain access rights to any products developed. WRAIR will be responsible for cGMP production of the lead Staphylococcus product, AmpliPhage-002 for Phase 1 and 2 clinical trials at its Bioproduction Facility. Further details of the agreement including financial terms were not disclosed.

Philip J. Young, CEO of AmpliPhi, said: “This collaboration is a significant partnership for our company. It combines AmpliPhi’s expertise in the discovery and development of bacteriophage-based therapies with the US Army’s scientific and clinical research for the development of phage therapies for treatment of bacterial infections. It will serve to expedite the development, testing and approval of new treatment modalities. Working together I believe we will be able to improve the care of patients with these serious, often life threatening, infections.”

Dr Kenneth A. Bertram, Principle Assistant for Acquisition at USAMRMC, said: “Multidrug resistant bacterial infections are a significant challenge for US military, as they are for the rest of the world. The Army has had a long standing interest in the potential of innovative therapies to address this challenge. This bacteriophage collaboration is an important step in the battle to find much needed alternative therapies to treat these infections.”

If initial development activities are successful, the scope of the collaboration could expand to research and develop bacteriophage therapies against other diseases of mutual interest.